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Pit bull that attacked Effingham boy may go to New York shelter

A pit bull that attacked a 5-year-old Effingham County boy last summer will go to a rescue center in New York if $5,000 in donations can be gathered in the next few days.

Mickey Kicklighter, the court-appointed attorney for the dog named Kno, said Glen Wild Animal Rescue in South Kortright, N.Y., will take the dog and make sure he is kept under the restrictions suggested by the boy’s family.

The family asked that Kno not be adopted and that he be kept away from children. The dog also does not get along with cats and has to be kept away from them, according to staff at the Effingham County animal shelter.

The $5,000 would go toward Kno’s food and vet bills for the rest of his life, said Liz Keller, a founder of the rescue.

She said Kno would live on the rescue’s 10-acre property, which is about 160 miles northwest of New York City, and would live inside a 10-bedroom house. She said the rescue helps dogs, horses, goats and cats.

Kno bit Wesley Frye on July 24, 2012, while he was playing with another child in a neighbor’s house in the Paddleford Subdivision. One of the dog’s owners was able to stop the attack by getting the dog outside.

The boy was left with scars and some facial paralysis.

The dog has lived in a 6-foot-by-5-foot pen at the county’s animal shelter since the attack.

Julie Long, one of Kno’s former owners, said she’s glad the dog is going to live and not be around children or cats.

“That’s what we were hoping for,” she said.

Gene Frye, the boy’s father, said he’s had some second thoughts recently about whether the dog should be allowed to live.

He said the boy still has a fear of large dogs but has “improved vastly” and the family is moving on with their lives.

Keller said the shelter is nonprofit and donations are tax deductible.

Time is short for collecting donations because a hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Effingham County Superior Court for a judge to decide Kno's fate. Kicklighter said if the money isn't donated before then, the judge may decide Kno should be euthanized.